Game Composer Breaks Down LADY MARIA OF THE ASTRAL CLOCKTOWER - Bloodborne 

You know, I was really looking forward to playing Bloodborne soon, still am. But I've been having so much fun going in blind into these reactions. I think I'll wait a bit longer until I finally play it! Speaking of games I'll certainly play, have you seen my Elden Ring video? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L32Jnz2Pbak.html

This man has a better understanding of Bloodborne's story and core themes than most people who have played the full game just by listening to the music.

Man is learning the lore through the music, he's on another level.

I love how you can hear the soundtrack of a character you don't know and still explain details of their lore based on how the song was composed. Your comment of "2 voices in agreement about being sad and in tragedy" fits her perfectly, a great hunter who did terrible things and now tries to destroy and hide her mistakes

Lore learning methods and difficulty: Easy = learning thru lore videos Hard = learning thru item descriptions/npc dialogue *Davi = learning thru music*

6:05 the powers of the holy choir, that not even a composer can describe why it's so powerful in a theme. And i love that

I figure the duet at the beginning could be her two swords. Used in tandem for actions Maria herself regrets and tries to keep hidden away. And as for later, the longer the fight goes, the more she relies on the powers of her noble family line. Powers she was disgusted by and did everything she could to succeed without them. Thus showing her true side which is both noble and terrifying.

4:08 The two voices on agreement make me think of Gherman and Lady Maria when they were together. They had a big story together in the past. Or maybe it's about the 2 faces of the character, running the place where cruel experiments happened but caring about those patients.

Woow you single handedly described Lady Maria perfectly, just by analysing her boss song. Hands down champ. You should definitely try to get into this game. The lore and the story is just something else, like you only experience once in a lifetime. Now I just wonder what kind of interpretation/breakdown would you do from NieR..?

I will never forget the battle against Maria. I had like 1 HP and killed her with a swing of Holy Blade right after a Old Bone sprint which ironically is Gerhman's technique.

You described Lady Maria perfectly, even though you have not played the game. The way the music, the melody can tell the story, is amazing. I really like your videos.

10:50 "E O Regina, O Diva Sanguinae" bit aways give me the chills, bc of the lyrics and the soprano in the back.. inevitable chills!!

The duet may be a reference to three things, the "dance" between the hunter and maria as they fight (it's a way more dignified battle than the usual bloodborne carnage), the dual blades of the rakuyo (her weapon and main object of her loathing) or her and gherman, good friends turned monsters as they doomed an entire village, the endless struggle is pretty clear that it references the hunters nightmare (the place where maria was sent after her suicide, her soul trapped right next to the atrocities she had done)

If Gehemans theme was about loneliness Marias would be about regret and guilt. She has blood on her hands like other hunters that she can never rub off.

5:27 Lady Maria is descended from the Cainhurst Nobles, and the Cainhurst way is a mix of nostalgia and bombast. How very fitting that even when she's far from home, even forsaking home, it's still a core part of her theme. 12:16 Actually that's very accurate to the battle itself. Maria seems to be aware that you will keep coming back to challenge her, and the only way she can stop you is by killing you again and again until you just give up. She goes all out with _everything_ she had and so does the player, so in the third and final act, the grace and tense dance you had completely breaks down into a brutal, chaotic melee. Two savage Hunters giving it their all, just to land that final killing blow and end this awful, grueling duel.

If I remember the lore correctly, the reason 8:00 sounds so heroic is because Lady Maria genuinely believes she was doing the right thing

I think it’s worth mentioning what happens that triggers the part at 06:05. Maria is a character that has forsaken blood and the hunt because of the atrocities the hunters and scholars committed in the fishing hamlet. She becomes so desperate to stop you that she plunges her weapon into herself and starts using blood arts again. Like you say later it’s tragic and heroic at the same time. This character is breaking her vows and sacrificing everything she stands for in one last desperate bid to stop you from from entering the village she swore to protect.

I can’t believe how spot on he was with the endless struggle aspect.

Lady Maria is my favourite boss fight in Bloodborne. This is just the most fun I've had in any fight. A true hunter on hunter battle, very challenging, but fair.

Oh my goodness!!! What an incredible piece! It's so intensely tragic. I love how it builds and builds, it just keeps snowballing, it's almost like I was holding my breath, when listening because it just doesn't give any break or respite, it's like struggling for breath! I loved the vocals and how the cymbals were clashing. Incredible! So glad you shared this one! Thanks Davi!

at 8:40, you could see it as Maria accomplishing something great, only to realize with horror of what she did

I love how FromSoft tells story through the music so well that a music analyst analysing its music can almost perfectly guess the lore behind the boss/character. Like, how you guessed the sort of, "classy, graceful" thing, and indeed Maria is a knight of the Nobles Of Cainhurst (I won't spoil too much, but you can say that these knights were sort of like, "noble samurai" I suppose, you can look up the lore if you want to) EDIT: PS- Would you be interested in taking recommendations from other games too? I would have some if you want to! Ofc, more Soulsborne stuff is never bad, but still. I'd love to see you break down tracks from more vast categories.

I think you nailed the intention here. To me, the two solo instruments forming a harmonious duet clearly depicts a fight between two individuals. But it's not simply any fight, as Maria doesn't just start to attack mindlessly like a monster but rather invites the player respectfully to dance with her. This feeling gets stronger because of the quick swinging rhythm. And that brings the whole scene to life as even the arena looks like an abandoned ball room where classy people used to dance. That's how it feels to me, anyway.

Nailing the backstory of Lady Maria through her OST. Amazing. The struggle is with her conscience and her crimes in the name of the Healing Church, and the lengths she is willing to go to hide the sins of the Hunters. She resorts to forbidden "Blood Magic" to face you, the player, to prevent you from discovering the disturbing truth hidden inside the Hunter's Nightmare.

Awesome video. And it fits very well with the story (but idk if i wanna spoil lol). Would recommend "Laurence, The First Vicar". "The Hunter" or "Living failures" if you do more of these :)

Something I absolutely love is that at the beginning, there's what I think are a violin and cello seeming to almost play a different melody each, but interweaving with eachother. One is tragic and somber, one is more hopeful and yet still melancholic. I've always interpreted this as the cello being representative of Gehrman's more grizzled nature and understanding of the Hunters' sins and brutality, and the violin as Maria's naivety and admiration of Gehrman before witnessing the massacre of the Fishing Hamlet. When the choir comes in and everything becomes much more grandiose, it's like the explosive culmination of all her tragedies. Led to see the Hunters she admired butcher an entire village and the man she admired most slaughter an infant Great One. It's implied she's a relative of the Vileblood Queen as well, which would explain her cursed blood and how she can literally stab herself in the heart and survive- she's cursed with a power she doesn't want, she's learned that the hero she wanted to be would make her no more than a glorified butcher of the innocent. I see her protecting the people of the Research Hall as her own chosen form of atonement for the sins of both herself and the Hunters she once associated herself with, and this in turn is made all the more tragic by her *needing* to use the power she hates so much to continue guarding the horrible truth of the Fishing Hamlet. Or, if you interpret her as more of a kind of regret-borne lingering spirit of who she once was- being an inhabitant of the Hunter's Nightmare and all- you could even see it as her possibly guarding the Orphan of Kos, something she might have wished she could have done so that all this tragedy could have been avoided. Fantastic track.

I would love to see Davi and Vaatividya work together because I think I would be really cool to see how the music of a boss helps explain the relationship, or nature of the conflict between the boss and the player in some lore videos

"Laurence, the first Vicar" and "the Living Failures" are amazing too

I love when someone who dont know about Bloodborne listen the themes, Lady Maria is my favorite boss and her theme is so beautiful im glad an expert analyze and enjoy the song.

when you were "shocked" by the shift, if you understand *when* that shift happens in the fight, and what that means for the character, it makes perfect sense. Also, you somehow understand more about the characters and the story just from listening to the music than most who play the game lmao

It's incredible how much of the story you're figuring out through the track! Maria (and the whole DLC she's in) has a whole theme of being stuck in a unresolving nightmare. She is indeed very noble, because she's guarding the final area of the DLC to protect it from you, but also very horrific - because she's also hiding the atrocities she helped commit there. The music reflects that duality so well, and it's so crazy you caught that just by listening! I hope you do more Bloodborne stuff, the music in this game is amazing!

You point something out very interesting. The 2 emotions of the piece most likely are representative of Maria’s lore in which she is hiding the atrocities she’s committed. The grace of ignoring her past and the sadness of her past. Great video and is insightful to her lore unintentionally

I feel like it’s definitely worth mentioning that the disturbing ‘buzzing’ that runs through the first part and comes in and out throughout the ‘dance’ feels like something disturbing is lurking and trying to break through. The dance of the cello and the violin become a way of her trying to control this or be her own person without it- until finally giving into it, and the disturbing buzzing becomes all that you hear. She unleashes the horror inside her that she tried desperately to keep in, but found herself forced to let it out in desperation. The restlessness of the second half really emphasises how this ‘disturbing force’ wanted to be let out for so long- it’s like it’s been bottled up forever and now it can finally explode out of her like a horrifying parasite. I love the way fromsoft’s composers and orchestra always capture the nature of the characters so well. It’s part of what makes the music so powerful. Great video as always, keep up the good work

That clashing duet, two hunters, two very similar parts clashing against each other in a dance. This is the only fight in the game that made me feel like my opponent wasn't a visceral beast I had to put down, like if it was about something bigger than any of us. It hit different, my fav boss in all soulsborne.

"This is surprisingly pleasant for-" Famous last words

You mentioned duo and I was stunned because of... the duo of Maria and Gehrman -- their story and tragedy were shown even in that way. My god, Bloodborne suprises me every time.

I absolutely love your breakdowns of these soundtracks! You should check out "Laurence, The First Vicar" and "The Owl" from Sekiro too

Lady Maria is one of those soundtracks that really grows with you during the fight. She has many phases, and each one of her attacks becomes more and more frenzied. One of the things about her backstory is that she has powers of heretical origins (the vileblood) and she slowly gives herself to those powers as she fights you. The second phase of the soundtrack sounds like she is pondering if she should use such powers to protect her secrets.

This guy HAS to hear Ebrietas’s theme. He has the best reactions and analyses.

That crescendo in the middle gives me chills every time. I’m instantly transported back to that first time o fought her, and you have this vague understanding that she eschewed her Cainhurst past in favor of skill. Then that moment where the crescendo hits while she’s plunging her blade into herself to imbue it with her blood. She’s finally letting go, and embracing every aspect of her power to prevent you from repeating the same mistakes her and her classmates did in the fishing hamlet. Such an iconic fight. Both thematically, and gameplay wise.

Figuring out so much lore about a character simply by their theme speaks volumes of how masterfully crafted the music is.

"this is surprisingly pleasant--" absolute despair and anguish barges in

I was very impressed when I first saw this Lady Maria character, her authority was felt, giving her a fight that was not so easy was a satisfaction for the player.

The "lack of rest" you bring up is so fitting. Maria is trapped forever in a hellish dreamscape that takes the form of her own worst memories. She doesn't know any peace or rest, only guilt.

I love the little emotions he has when he hears a part of the music that catches his intrigue.

is honestly impressive how can you know so much about a character based on the theme, you nailed everything, very amazing! i recommend the next one to be the laurence theme, my personal favorite

On the duet: More than any fight especially in the DLC for bloodborne, I see the fight against Maria as a battle of ones will against another. The will of one wanting to plunge deeper into the unknown, while the other desperate to keep them at bay so that they go no further. Both engaging in an elaborate dance, a duel to see who's will is stronger as they give their all

This track reflects the characters lore better than I could imagine. Just listen to it: it's the glory of being Ghermans disciple and the dishonoring yourself with acts of unspeakable violence. This game is truly genius.

Such a spot on analysis! I love watching videos in which people fight Lady Maria since you can see the skill needed to match this master of a hunter and then the music basically acting as a graceful dance music until the fight becomes more and more of a struggle and both hunters going all out

Your insight and analysis are always amazing! This is an amazing theme that expresses beautifully Maria’s nobility and conveys her deep remorse and unwavering will to hide their secrets. A beautiful fight and an overwhelming theme, so brilliant! Thank you for covering this theme this week!!

Everytime it amazes me how you are able to interpret yuka kitamuras maria theme and how every composer who worked on Bloodborne are able to tell the story so we'll. It's like you played the game just by hearing the music. It's a testament to you and all the composers who worked on Bloodborne that's for sure

bro these videos makes me love music theory. You pretty much nailed every theme of Maria story just by listening

Davi Vasc: "So, instead of going to the happy chord, they go here, which is the chord from the beginning that I- that I said 'remember, that is one of the most disturbing chords that there are'!" Lady Maria: "A chord... should be left well alone."

I wish I could understand music like he does You kinda feel the emotions when the music is good, but having a proper understanding must feel so good

Always exciting to see you listen to Bloodborne. Ebrietas or Living Failures should definitely be on your list for the next Bloodborne track 👌🏻.

Lady Maria in the game is a Vileblood. The Vilebloods were a long dynasty of nobles who used their unique blood to empower themselves and give them an edge in battle but that for many reasons was not favourable by the majority of Yharnam's inhabitants. Maria hates the fact that she is a descendant of the Vilebloods and has sworn to never use their methods but when you fight and best her she realises that this is the only way she can defeat you. The way I interpret the the two voices in her track is them depicting a different side of marias character. From one side a noble hunter, from the other a snivelling vileblood and the music builds up as she eventually gives in and embraces her ancestry.

It's amazing how the conclusions you make about the characters are almost exactly correct. For example Lady Maria comes from a family of nobles and you caught on to that when you talked about the brass instruments. Well done!!!

5:57 I watched a LOT of streamers play Bloodborne this past year, and there was a pattern I noticed... Maria's fight has 3 different phases, with Phase 2 & 3 kicking in at 66% and 33% health, respectively. Usually, players would die rather quickly in Phase 1 due to being unprepared for Maria's sheer speed. After a bit, people would eventually make it to Phase 2, but that became another big sticking point. Her blades gain a longer range after she stabs herself and imbues the weapon with the power of her Vileblood heritage (it's a lore thing). Musically, the track loops the opening cello/violin solos until Phase 2 is reached. At this point, the track ends the loop and moves on into the choral sting and subsequent section in the original key of D. Because of this shift, many players struggled at that point for a bit as they were forced to learn the Phase 2 techniques. As a result, the choral sting was often one of the last parts of the track that players would hear. It became lovingly known among a number of streams (thanks to me) as the "Death Choir." As it stands, the Death Choir is one of my Top 3 moments of the entire soundtrack. It is perfection, and it gives me goosebumps every. single. time.

I think the "two voices" are likely meant to represent Maria's own internal struggle, wrestling against her guilt. The game strongly implies that she committed suicide, because despite abandoning her old life and attempting to atone by becoming a caretaker, she was never able to shake her guilt and shame over her past actions. This probably also explains the restless, unsatisfying nature of the 2nd half of the score. She could never find peace, even in death. I'm so glad to have found your channel. You're a delight to watch, and your enthusiasm is quite infectious. It's pretty impressive how much (accurate) character information you are able to glean solely from the music. That really makes me even more appreciative of all the careful thought that went in to crafting these scores.

Your absolutely right there is no rest the whole time your dancing with her it's amazing and her boss room fits it so well.

That battle playing is sooo elegant... Hunters definitely have a knack for classy stuff. I guess it contrasts with all that gory stuff happening in their job. x'D But seriously. Dual blade and an crossbow. She doesn't have over the top attacks like Ludwig, but she's constantly pressuring you, while you must absolutely respect the battle's code if you want to win. A single misstep leads to hell! Loved the moment the choir kicked in. I would have gave up at trying to decipher the music if not for you still struggling forward! Love how logical your interpretation is. ^.^

The way you grasped Lady Maria through her soundtrack is amazing. Subscribed.

12:15 You *are* stuck in an endless struggle. Generally in Souls games, the only time music plays is for boss encounters and the only time it stops is when you or the boss dies. It feels very appropriate and all the more tragic in this case that this tension building up without rest in the third part of the soundtrack will only be resolved with the death of Maria.

Am I the only one who noticed that this is the shortened version of the song? There’s usually an extended section that very discordant and the choir just wails without any real melody. Seems you got the shortened version, I hope you can do another video of the full 5 minute song! It’ll help add way more detail to her character and the themes in the song than just this 4 minute version.

When he mentions the part about two voices agreeing that this is tragic and sad at 3:37, that's exactly how fighting every bloodbourne boss feels after you discover who they really are. 11:27 i really feel like the "struggle" between glory/triump and guilt/madness is exactly what Lady Maria and a majority of the cast feels. The difference is that Lady Maria is unresting against her conflict throughout the whole thing until you cut her down, it's why the sad notes are followed by explosive joyous chorus.

I love that the drop rendered you speechless; it gives me chills every single time. I really love your analysis! It brings new light to Maria's character, especially the idea that we never resolve at the end, it's just a traumatic "endless struggle," as you said. It's very fitting, because her spirit is trapped in a Nightmare, which is essentially Hell (for Hunters), and she has committed a lot of heinous acts in her life, so her spirit is writhing as she tries to grapple with all of it. This ties in with the two solo voices you mentioned at the beginning. She has the callousness of a Hunter and an ability to perform terrible acts, but her conscience torments her later on.

It's amazing to think that a knowledgeable composer can grab a lot of key story info just from the music alone. It's like you're reading a book using just the background music! That's amazing to me honestly, the attention to detail they put behind these boss soundtracks is remarkable.

Bro your blowing my effing MIND right now. Most deserved sub I’ve ever given! Thank you for this!

5:30 she really is classy, even when she does a visceral attack to us she pulls her arm slowly and let's go of us gently no wonder gehrman was falling for her

Lady Maria is the most skilled hunter, her arena is all on even footing with no obstructions and a lot of space, if there is ever a fight in all of Bloodborne that comes down to absolute skill it’s this one. Hunter vs Hunter with only the best Hunter emerging victorious. The only fight that comes close to this is the Cainhurst Crow who isn’t a boss and doesn’t have his own theme music.

Lady Maria wields two swords in a very graceful manner, like a dance. She cuts herself with them to gain power from blood. A harmonious but sad cellos duet is on point 🤯

6:07 a cara do Davi foi impagável nesse momento kkkkkk Mal sabia q o triunfo dessa OST tava por vir!!!

Another song to check out from the Bloodborne soundtrack is Moon Presence. I'm liking this video, definitely be following your channel!

Loved your reactions and it was amazing how you could decipher the lore based off the music alone. Thanks for the analysis!

First of all I thank you so much for shading some light on this masterpiece because other composers react channels never did and it was a DLC boss so a lot of people never played ,so tip of the head to you sir second of all I was one of the people that requested this video and you just did it ,you're the best and you do care about the comments I just wish for you the best and success and achieve all your goals , Good luck

Man I love your analysis

Your break down videos are OP. Best game music review video for people lack music knowledge, learning stuff and enjoying the music at the same time.

i always like to think the duet is so harmonious because bloodbornes hunter fights (like gehrmann, lady maria and gascoigne) are always a dance to some extent so these two voices fit together and yet stand in contrast with each other. constant shooting, dodging, swiping their weapons over and over. all you see is 2 people dancing around each other with incredible agility and the only goal is to kill each other. then the unsettling background always made this extremely intense for me and definitely one of my favorites from that game. im not a musician but i can appreciate a piece that i can interpret something into.

Bro the way you are able to get pieces of the story through the music alone is actually amazing

Oi Davi. This is such a surprising theme. What a haunting and beautiful melody and the choral section is so moving! I feel quite emotional. Thanks for this video … wow! :)

Your videos are INCREDIBLE. You permit me to deeply understand what a masterpiece is Bloodborne. It's just amazing what we had the privilege to play in: a videogame apex

This is surprisingly pleasant for... *WHIPLASH* I love your content. Keep up the good work 😂

The description you give for lady maria with the elegance the classic mix up with the horror and the suffering ... it describe her just perfectly insta sub for me!!!

Oh boy, I have not finished watching your video, and already your comments about Lady Maria and the understanding you have from what you gathered listening to the music and have not played the game is simply astonishing. Many of your comments resonate with me and even enhance the impression I have from the game, so thank you for that! Loved your Ludwig and Gehrman videos. Here's hoping we can see more of your takes about Bloodborne music!

Just to help explain why the transition at around 6:00 Lady Maria stabs herself ingame like something out of a shakespearean suicide. I bet that's the same way she killed herself outside of the nightmare. She's just that classy and tragic.

Going from the glorious and triumphant to the sad, disturbing and tragic is literally how the lore in the soulsborne games work!

And here it comes. One more of my favorite soundtracks from Bloodborne. This ost really gives you no rest, and even if I've never played Bloodborne, this really feels like an incredibly intense battle. Thank you for the video ❤️

You have GOT to listen to the theme for The Dancer of the Boreal Valley! By far my favorite boss and OST in Dark Souls 3

"This is surprisingly pleasant-" *choir of the damned arrives*

Fantastic breakdown as always! I especially loved your insight on how the melody alternates between "regal victory," and "anguished tragic insanity" and that the track gives you a false hope that it will settle on one or the other.

Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, and it was such a joy seeing you react to this track. The way you talk about it is so full of excitement and love, and that makes me elated. In terms of the game itself, the start of the fight- that very human duet of two voices singing together in tragedy, to me, *is* the player and boss fighting. The game's fights are very visceral and brutal, especially with beast enemies, so when you fight the human ones, or other hunters, it feels more like a dance than a battle, like dueting partners. The increasing regality is spot on, as Maria was of a noble line, but had spurned that title. She became disgusted with the experiments that were being done, and the what were essentially war crimes that her and Gherman had committed. Her blood magic and fire are the powers of her noble lineage, and she also had spurned them, if not for you, the hunter that would come to discover the horrors of Maria's past missions in the Fishing Hamlet. The choir and the brass grow as she slips further back into her old self, using those powers to prevent you from discovering what happened. At that point, the duet and two agreeing voices, I interpret are both Maria's opposing feelings of her past, and self-imprisonment within the Nightmare, atop the Astral Clocktower. Wow. Now I just need to play Bloodborne again.

Gosh I enjoy it so much the way u enjoy listening to these beautiful songs

Your analysis was spot on with the story

I’ve always loved that most of the bosses are ones who lost their way or their humanity. And in the end you’re not killing them you’re giving them mercy.

Alternating between triumph, dignity and grace, and tragedy, suffering and insanity really does well to sum up Lady Maria's back story.

It's just such a joy watching your reactions. You seem so genuinely interested in every single note and it's fun to watch you putting all the score puzzles together to try and guess the lore of bloodborne. Even as someone who played the game more than 5 times your reactions really make me go back and play the game with a different route than before and enjoy the soundtrack again. Thank you Davi!!

Great reaction! Can't wait for Laurence the First Vicar.

That beat drop was actually sickening. My heart skipped a beat when I first heard that

Yes! Man this is so amazing, Davi! I initially never fully liked the second phase with the chior, but with describing how it alternates between the dualities that the cello and violin in the first phase do, it actually makes it way more likeable. Lady Maria is a fantastically interesting character lore-wise as well. Thank you for filling in some inspiration for how to appreciate the second phase more. This piece was composed by Yuka Kitamura, the same artist for Elden Ring. If you'd like to analyse some more of her music I'd recommend Darkeater Midir, Abyss Watchers, Pontiff Sulyvahn just to name a few :D They're all fantastic pieces.

A mini series on the Fated Four from MHXX would be amazing! (Mizu and Astalos are two of my favorite themes, and I have a feeling I'd love Glavenus and Gammoth more with your insights!)